“Miracle baby” needs hands-on love and attention

Emmett is coming up on his first birthday and doctors think he will likely need lifelong care, but he is improving every day. It is impossible to tell how much he will be able to recover as he still has considerable blood on his brain. He was blind, but it now appears he may be recovering some sight in one of his eyes. He was thought to be totally deaf, but it appears he may be hearing some sounds as he is very responsive and is making sounds of his own.

He cannot hold his head up by himself, but he appears to be trying very hard to do so. He can sit alone with support. He can partially roll over. When held on his foster parent’s lap he tries very hard to stand and put weight on his feet.

He has started eating small bites of baby food from a spoon. He’s a really good eater, and he weighs 22 pounds and is 29 inches tall! He has a really strong grip, and he can hold on to a finger or small toy. He likes to suck his fist.

He recently started having what his doctors say might be “mini seizures” that last just a couple of seconds. His foster mother describers him more as having “spasms” as he startles very easily. Because of these she feels he needs someone with him constantly to reassure him that he is OK.

For all his challenges, Emmett is a very happy baby, and he loves to be cuddled and held.

Emmett receives occupational and physical therapy on a weekly basis. He also has numerous and frequent medical appointments with different specialists. Emmett needs a very special adoptive family who will commit to the unknown and to a lifetime of care for him.

He was born in December 2015.

There are more than 500 children in temporary foster homes in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties. They have been abused, neglected or abandoned. While some may eventually return to their birth families, the rest will need adoptive families.

Families First Network is a community-based care agency that provides foster care and adoption services for children and families in the Northwest Florida area from Escambia County east to Walton County.

Families interested in adoption can contact Families First Network at 1-866-313-9874 in Pensacola.